HAY RIVER - French students from Diamond Jenness Secondary School took class in a mechanic shop last week while other students crammed into a church basement.

Paul Theriault, principal of Hay River's Diamond Jenness Secondary School, stands outside the closed facility on Oct. 27. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

An asbestos scare - unfounded as it turned out - closed the school for a couple of days forcing staff to scramble for other accommodations on Oct. 26.

"I've got to say it is absolutely incredible," said principal Paul Theriault. "In my 30 years of experience, I've never seen a situation where you were able to organize temporary classrooms for an entire high school that size within one day and have them back in class the next day. This is basically unheard of. Normally, this type of thing takes a good week."

Space for classes was found in Diamond Jenness's new trades building, other schools, the highrise apartment building and a church basement.

The school was ordered closed just after 5 p.m. on Oct. 25 by the Workers Safety and Compensation Commission.

More than 320 students in Grades 8 to 12 were affected.

Theriault said fibres were found in an air sample, probably the result of ongoing renovations, and the building was closed as a precautionary measure in case it might have been asbestos.

The school was closed on Oct. 26 and 27, before gradually getting back to normal on Oct. 28.

Maurice Evans, regional superintendent with the Department of Public Works and Services, said the sample from Oct. 21 was tested in Edmonton to determine whether the fibres were asbestos.

"It came up as not asbestos," he said.

Evans said air samples from Oct. 25 and 26 also came back clean after testing.

It is still undetermined what the fibres were, but Evans said the test is for asbestos, which is dangerous if inhaled.

"We're confident that there are no concerns here," he said.

"It was just dust, basically," said Theriault. "It shows that the system works. Obviously, it inconveniences the school, but I'm much happier to err on the side of caution."

Evans said protocol dictates the fibres had to be assumed to be asbestos because the school was built in an era when the material was used in construction.

Daily air samples are taken in the school during the renovations and sent to Edmonton for testing.

Once it was closed neither students nor staff were allowed in the school.

"It's a fun and interesting new adventure that we have to endure until the school is back up," said student Seth Norn at a class in the trades building.

Another student, Mikaela Muller, said, "It's nice that everyone is supporting us, but hopefully we can get back in the school soon."

Michele Stephens, a parent of students, praised the school for its quick reaction to the situation and for organizing alternate accommodations.

"They could have took the easy way out and said, 'OK, everybody stay home,'" Stephens said.

The renovations at the school, which opened in 1973, will cost more than $26 million in all and extend its life for at least another 25 years.

The renovations - called a half-life retrofit - will mean numerous improvements, such as larger classrooms, more windows, improved energy efficiency, more parking and a larger library.

The first phase was the separate trades centre, and work is now underway inside the school.

Construction is being done in stages to allow parts of the school to remain occupied as work proceeds. The project is scheduled to be complete by December of 2012.

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